Overview

The goal of the academic department is to support the work of urban educators to improve student achievement for all students in our member districts. The department collaborates with researchers to determine district systems and resources that correlate with improved student achievement. These results inform our recommendations to instructional leaders.

We share high-leverage information through videos and publications. Additionally, we provide on-site strategic support teams, webinars, job-alike conferences and workshops, and facilitate networking and collaboration among our members.

Major efforts this year focus on supporting our members with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and college and career-readiness standards. This includes increasing the functionality of academic key performance indicators, providing additional opportunities for regional networking as districts implement standards, providing and piloting tools for determining district-level implementation of the standards, alignment of instructional materials, and providing written guidance for developing curriculum that is aligned to the standards.